Scammers from Latvia, Belarus, Serbia making calls to dupe people of money

Scammers from Latvia, Belarus, Tanzania, Lithuania, Chile and Serbia are making fraudulent phone calls to dupe the people of the state of money and steal sensitive data stored on their mobile phones.

As per an advisory issued by the cyber cell of the state police, people have been advised to be cautious and not to attend to phone calls having ISD codes such as 375 (Belarus), 371 (Latvia), 381 (Serbia), 563 (Valparaiso, Chile), 370 (Vilnius, Lithuania) and 255 (Tanzania).

The cyber cell has also shared several phone numbers which are being used to make fraudulent calls. These phone numbers include 94777455913, 37127913091, 37178565072, 56322553736, 37052529259, 255901130460 or any number with 371, 375, 381 as prefix.

According to the police, these scammers make one ring and then hang up the call. If a person calls back on the phone numbers, they quickly copy his contact list. The scammers may also steal sensitive information such as bank or credit card details, if it is saved on the phone.

DIG (Cybercrime) Mohit Chawla has advised people to be aware of such phone calls and “do not answer or return calls to these numbers. Also, avoid pressing #90 or #09 on your phone if asked by any caller, as it is a new scam method used to access your SIM card, make unauthorised calls at your expense, or even frame you in a criminal activity.”

The police have also advised people to not open or click on unknown links and messages and not share personal and financial details with anyone. They have advised people to be on alert and inform them by dialing toll free number 1930 if anyone of them fall prey to a cyber criminal.